The WereWitch, The Dead Boy, and the Human Sacrifice
by Starr Rose
Summary: Carter and Brian are finding their place in the supernatural world they've been locked out of since Brian's return from the dead. Stiles is struggling to deal with the supernatural world he was never meant to be a part of. The supernatural world is confusing enough. High school just makes it worse.
1. Chapter 1

"Carter, Brian! It's good to see you!" Deaton sounded too cheerful for us to trust him. It had been three days since Stiles and I talked about the kiss. Three days of our official training. Three days of Deaton quizzing us on emotions with crude flash cards. Happy, upset, exhausted. It was boring, although I had learned a few new ones. Growing affection, genuine romantic love, and corrupted sexual intent.

"Nice to see you too, Deaton," I replied cautiously. Brian and I dropped our backpacks behind the main counter of the shelter and turned to stare at him leaning in the doorway that led to the back of the shelter, the area where our training took place.

"Remember how the two of you said you were bored with cards and simple emotions? Remember how you said you wanted a challenge? You wanted to really do something with your time?" Deaton demanded and I remembered very quickly that exact conversation.

_"Come on, Deaton," Brian whined. "We've been doing this stuff since we were kids. At ten years old, I knew what clown to avoid at birthday parties." _

_ "Deaton, I brought my brother back from the dead. I want to learn how to build, not just read. I mean, look, I know I have to know how to read situations and nature just as much as people, but I want to get that done quick. I want to be a builder!" _

_ "And you will be, with patience." _

_ The synchronization of mine and Brian's eye rolls were perfect and Deaton just frowned at us and pointed towards the flash cards once again. _

"Okay," Brian said slowly. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I found some volunteers today. Why don't you come on back?" He walked through and Brian and I studied one another for a minute before we followed him cautiously, him talking the entire time. "The two of you are good readers, I'll give you that. You're advanced for your age and for your level of training. But the two of you are nowhere near as advanced as you think you are. But, since you insist on bounding ahead, let me give you a taste of what's on your road still."

We stepped inside and found Scott and Isaac sitting up on the table, staring at us. Isaac was wearing his general vacant smile and Scott was studying us carefully. Brian said drily, "Let me guess, these two are our test."

"Yes, yes they are."

"Alright, let's get up close and personal with the shadow men," I sighed.

"Uh uh," Deaton stopped us. "You're not getting 'up close and personal' with them. You're getting up close and personal with their wolves. And you're going to read their human side through their wolves. Boys, if you will please."

Deaton motioned towards them and Brian and I watched in horror as they transformed in front of our eyes. It was without warning when they shifted. I'd never seen a werewolf before but I expected it was more like the movies. I expected them to howl in pain or to shudder or something. But they didn't. They just stared at us and their shadow raced to the front, slamming against their natural faces. Hair spread down their jawlines while the actual bones shifted. Their eyebrow bones elongated and jutted out over their face while their noses were flattened and their jaws snapped so that their teeth protruded. Their glinting, razor sharp teeth. Brian and I stepped back and Brian threw himself in front of me. I snapped, "How in the hell is it going to help me if they attack you?"

""They're not going to attack you," Deaton promised. "One, I know for a fact that the two of you carry mountain ash on you at all times now. Two, they're in control of themselves. They have a task to focus on. They're your test."

"What?" Brian demanded."

"They're your test," Deaton repeated. "They each have something to focus on. A thought playing over and over in their heads. And it's your job to identify the thought and everything about it. So, Carter, you're with Isaac because it's easier for Scott to be around Brian. I'll let you stay in the same room because Isaac feeds off Scott and you and Brian feed off each other. Brian and Scott, over by the cages. Carter and Isaac, table near the door. Behave yourselves."

Isaac and Scott slid off the operating table and separated. Brian and I stood still, neither of us wanting to approach the wolves. Deaton ordered, "Go. You didn't want to do flashcards so this is your break. We're going to work backwards since the two of you are just so damn smart."

"But…."

"Nope. Approach your partners and get to work. I'll be filling out paperwork." Deaton left the room, leaving Scott and Isaac staring at us patiently.

"It'll be alright," I said slowly, more for Brian than myself.

"You are aware that I know when you're lying, right?"

"Yep."

"Just checking. Let's get this over with."

I reached out and took my brother's hand in mine to squeeze it for a second and he squeezed back. We released at the same time and I made my way over to Isaac. He greeted, "Hey, Carter" but his voice wasn't his own. It was deeper, gravelly. He continued, "You really don't have to be scared."

"Right, well, seeing as how you could rip my throat out in two seconds, I'm going to be a little scared until this is over. But we should learn to be around your kind."

"Your kind, huh?"

"Don't flirt with my sister, Isaac, focus on what you're supposed to be doing," Brian scolded without turning his focus away from Scott.

Isaac had enough sense to look ashamed before his face turned serious and I could see the emotions shifting. It was hard enough to read the shadow people when they weren't wolfed out. Most of the time, it was like looking in a store window with a reflection blocking the view; the shadow being the reflection and the human being the inside of the store. It was hard to see through the reflection, but it wasn't impossible. The reflection was just frustrating. But, when they were wolfed out, it was like painting the store window over with slightly transparent paint and then asking us what was inside.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're thinking about a girl," I guessed, straining to catch the flecks of emotion as they passed his face. "Somebody you haven't known very long….a friend of a friend….there's no approval for it…."

"You can do better than that, Carter!" Deaton called from the entrance desk. It had been thirty minutes since he left us alone in the room with the wolves. "Brian, how are you doing?"

"Fucking Christ on a fucking cracker. A relative? Maybe? Maybe it's not a blood relative, maybe it's just a relative in a spiritual sense. So it could be a legitimate family member, a friend, or a fucking member of his pack! Why did I get the alpha?" Brian snarled.

"Because your sister is more violent than you."

"We're both pacifists!" We argued together.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about! Feed off of one another! And, you, Carter, you were taught to be a pacifist. That doesn't mean you are one. Get back to work. Give me a name."

"Okay, you want a name? That's all? We have to tell you who they're thinking of?" I demanded.

"Yep. And no guessing. It has to be definite. Because if you give me an answer and it's wrong, they'll start over thinking about something else entirely."

"Okay, a name. Brian, we can do names. Names are easy because we don't have to look for the name!" I cried out. "We just have to look for identifiers!"

"We can use what we know about them when they're not wolves!" Brian cheered.

I turned back to Isaac and smiled wide at him. He said calmly, "Your heartbeat's faster but you're not scared anymore."

"I'm still terrified, Isaac, but I know a few things about you from Stiles and from your human form! Like I know that there aren't too many people who are guys that you consider friends. So the connection has to be through one of two people." I searched quickly. Looking for identifiers that would lead to the alpha. I didn't know the wolves well enough to identify relationships, but I knew humans well enough to know when somebody was thinking about the person who was in charge of them.

Across the room, Brian said slowly, "It's not a female family member. So let's play the emotion game, Scott. Dad?"

Brian was using words to try to change thoughts quickly and gauge the new reaction against the old image. It took a lot longer than pathways but it was more obvious. I couldn't find a power symbol in Isaac's face so I muttered, "Stiles then. You know the person through Stiles. Who do you know through Stiles? You know Lydia through Stiles, don't you?"

I searched his face again and again, trying to find links to Lydia and not finding any. I could only find similarities as he thought of them. There were similarities in the two people. When the readings changed from the unknown to Lydia, some things were left behind. Some things stayed. I didn't know what they all were, but I could tell it wasn't Lydia. I nodded and said slowly, "Okay. Who else did you meet through Stiles?"

He just stared at me, his hazel eyes glowing and the signs beneath the shadow shifting slowly. I sighed, "Isaac, please tell me you met somebody other than me through Stiles."

I briefly saw embarrassment flash to the surface of his face and I called out, "Deaton, Isaac's chosen topic was me. You told him to think of me. That's really messed up, Deaton."

"You see yourself as attractive, Carter. Not as somebody boys fantasize about. You should have been able to see your name within seconds of looking at Isaac, werewolf or not. And you, Brian?"

"Almost there so shut up, all of you! All of you, shut up!"

Isaac shifted back to human form and grinned sheepishly at me. I stated bluntly, "You have a thing for Allison."

"And you have a thing for Stiles. But you still find me attractive. Attraction isn't about emotions," he shrugged it off. "It's about hormones. And you are freaking dumping hormones. Seriously. Don't you have an outlet?"

I chose not to mention the gift my mother got me so that I could combat "feelings of extreme passion." Instead, I turned my attention to Scott and Brian. Brian growled, "I have it narrowed down to three people. Carter, come here."

I crossed the room and stood behind him, placing my hands on his shoulders and sighing into him. I took a deep breath, filled my lungs, closed my eyes, and let it pour from me. I imagined the breath, the energy, the life force, flowing down my arms, down my fingertips, and into my brother. I created the bridge between me and him and let the energy cross it, leaving me and lingering in him. I boosted him and he cried out, "Who the fuck is Derek?"

"Scott's ex alpha. How did the two of you do that?" Isaac demanded.

I opened my eyes and stepped away from him, trying not to waver as I did. I reached behind me and grabbed the table to steady myself. Brian heard me falter and leapt up to grab me and steady me. From the doorway, Deaton explained, "They cheated, and they know it."

We looked over at him and Deaton tossed Brian a juice. Brian opened it and handed it to me. Deaton continued, "She uses her abilities to build a bridge between them, a bridge that is easy to build because it's already established. She just has to raise it back up. Then, she pours energy into him. It amplifies his power and he's able to see everything. But it burns up a lot of energy, which is why power must be built up."

"We've built our power," Brian argued while I downed the bottle of apple juice.

"You two have been walking your entire lives. Yes, every now and then you run a mile or two. You do extraordinary things. But I'm trying to build you up to running all the time. It's a form of exercise. Carter, how many miles did you start out with when you were trying to get ready to bring him back?"

I took my mouth away from the bottle to admit, "I had to learn to walk a mile in under fifteen minutes before I could run one."

"Exactly. Now the two of you see why I'm making you exercise. By the time we're done, you'll be able to look at Isaac and Scott and determine what they're thinking at a glance. But, for now, the two of you can't even tell what Stiles is thinking all of the time. The two of you will be doing flashcards and chemical memorization this week. Carter, eat something and sleep. The rest of you, clean the cages."

All three boys whined but moved to start cleaning. I took my hand behind me to move to the operating table and faltered. Isaac reached out and grabbed me. He smiled before sweeping me up princess style and carrying me to the operating table. He laid me down and stepped back. I looked up at Brian, who rolled his eyes and commanded, "Clean the cages. I'm going to get Carter something to eat."


	3. Chapter 3

"Guess who had her last day of detention today!" Carter raised her hands in the air and pointed down at herself with the usual perfect grin decorating her face.

"And guess how we're going to celebrate!" Lydia chimed in right behind her. Carter's grin faded quickly and she studied the other girl with suspicion in her eyes. I watched Carter read Lydia quickly and sigh. Brian chuckled and the rest of us waited. "We're going to have a slumber-study party!"

"You don't need help studying," Carter said quickly.

"No, I don't. And neither do you. But, you need girl-on-girl interaction and…"

"Isaac, Stiles, if either of you say what's written on your faces, I will personally break your arm," Brian warned through gritted teeth and I knew enough to blush and Isaac averted his eyes quickly.

"Ugh, perverts. Thank God for your brother, Carter."

Brian beamed at Lydia and, when she turned her attention back to Carter, turned to glare at us again. We were all resting around Carter and Brian's mustang after school. The two of them were waiting on Danny to get done inside so that they could go to his house for a movie marathon and we joined them on our way out of the school.

"Anyway, Carter, it's like I was saying. You need girl time. Have you ever even had a manicure?"

"No. Because I don't need one," she said flatly.

"Honey, if you think that, you clearly haven't seen your nails. Now, this Friday, you'll come over to my house. I've planned everything and I was even nice enough to give you two days to prepare yourself. You're welcome. Do you know what to bring to a slumber party?"

"I've been to sleepovers, Lydia." There wasn't one of us that wasn't listening with rapt attention to everything they were saying. Brian because he listened to everything Lydia said with rapt detail. Me because there were two girls that I'd kissed before and very much wanted to kiss again. Scott because he was interested in what Lydia had planned. And Isaac because he was just as much of a pervert as the rest of us, despite Allison keeping him on a short leash.

"Not one of mine," she snorted. "Now, Allison is coming over a little earlier than you but that's mostly because I've known her longer and like her better. She is my best friend after all and it's very important to spend time bonding. Isn't that right, Scott?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," he agreed quickly. "Stiles and I bond all the time. Isn't that right, Stiles?"

"Yeah. All the time."

"In fact," Scott continued, "we're going to have a get together too. Not a sleepover, you know, because guys don't have sleepovers. So, Brian, you're coming over, right?"

"What?" It was Carter's turn to smirk at her confused brother. Her smile read 'how's it feel.'

"Friday, you're coming over to game and stuff. We're probably going to have pizza and Stiles has a crazy gaming system. Actually, we should go over to Stiles house. You know, there's more room and, um…less breakable stuff." Scott smiled sheepishly at Isaac and Isaac grinned back. Those two were walking train wrecks. They couldn't spend ten minutes in a room without something getting scratched, dented, or broken.

"Umm…" Brian froze. Legitimately froze and looked terrified. Carter started giggling and our attention turned to her. Every giggle made her shoulders heave and her hair shift, falling around her face and down her adorable little sweater. Skin tight black looked good on her.

"All of you do realize that, chronologically, he's 22, right? He looks seventeen and his body is seventeen but it took me five years to bring him back. Mentally, he's 22 and dealing with the fact that he's a teenager and is hanging out with teenagers," Carter laughed outright and Brian reached out to push her gently, knocking her into me. She leaned there for a second before she bounced back up.

"Well physically you're a teenager so you're coming over to Stiles' house on Friday night to hang out," Scott ordered.

Carter snorted again and I wondered how I would be able to keep my thoughts off of her for hours around her brother. How I'd be able to not connect the two of them and everything I thought about Carter. Brian sighed, "I'm going to spend my night with three guys who think my sister's hot. Two have crazy crushes on other girls and one that's made out with her. Can we at least invite Danny?"

"We try to keep Danny out of the supernatural part of our lives," Scott rejected quickly and I nodded.

"Keeps him safe a little longer," I spoke up.

"You made out with Carter!?" Lydia shrieked. "Oh my god, girl, there is definitely going to be some gossip while we're getting manicures because you are not telling me that we've both made out with Stiles and I'm just now hearing about this. This is too great. If you made out with Scott, you and Allison would have something to talk about too!"

"I'm not making out with Scott. Or anyone else for a while. So let's just drop that right now. Let's just completely remove that option from the table," Carter said quickly. "Instead, let's not even talk about kissing people."

"Well, that's because you've only kissed one boy and it was Stiles."

"Hey!"

"Don't act surprised. Okay, everybody shut up. Here comes Danny. Carter, your invitation should have arrived in the mail today. I'll see you on Friday." With that, Lydia spun on her heel and walked away, her long red hair whooshing behind her and her car keys glinting in the light as they dangled from her perfect fingers.

Carter sighed, "Bri, I'm going to be in Hell."

"Shut up."

"The two of you are so friendly," I said sarcastically.

"That's what we're good at," Carter snarked back. "See you guys Friday."

Friday came around and Isaac, Scott, and I sat in the living room of my house. Isaac and Scott were contemplating whether Brian would show up or not. I said, for the tenth time, "He's going to be here. Morgan found Carter's invitation in the mail and is making her go to Lydia's sleepover so Carter told Morgan that Brian got invited to one too and he'll be here."

"What makes them so special that they have to be made hang out with us?" Isaac demanded. "We're trying to be friendly and every time we turn around, they're hostile. They're just gracing us with their presence whenever they show up."

"Basically, yes they are," I agreed. "But they're not assholes. I've told you a hundred times. They're just getting used to everything still. Five years of basic isolation."

"They've been here since August, Stiles. It's September. They need to get it together."

"You are an idiot, Isaac. And Brian should be hear any minute so try to be nice. Try to be accepting and try not to think about his sister," I scolded.

"He's here," Scott corrected. "The Mustang just pulled up."

A few seconds later, there was a loud knock on the door and I called out, "Come in!"

Brian opened the door and came in carrying a duffel bag and a Tupperware bowl. He stood in the doorway, looking in on us and explained, "Mom was originally going to send carrot sticks but Carter refused to let that happen. So instead there's nacho dip in here. It's actually pretty good."

"Carter can cook?" I questioned. "Every time I've been over at your house, the most she does in the kitchen is chop vegetables."

"She can cook, but she hates to cook," Brian replied. "And, generally, making Carter do things she doesn't want to do is a bad idea. But, she did really well this time."

"Did she go to Lydia's sleepover?" Scott asked.

"Yep. I dropped her off before I came over here and I'm going to pick her up in the morning when I leave here. Um…where should I put this stuff?"

"Dip in here, duffel bag upstairs. First room on the right," I commanded. "I've almost got everything set up in here. Are you ready for a night of junk food, violence, and time completely alone with guys?"

"Well, it's been about six years since I had a night with the guys, so yeah. I'm due for one." He gave us half a smile and took his stuff upstairs.

Half an hour later, Brian was sprawled across the floor with a bag of chips in front of him, a headset on his head, and a controller in his hand. Isaac was sitting in the recliner, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Scott and I were on the couch, mimicking Isaac's position. Brian and I were killing Scott and Isaac at every game we played. We tag teamed them. Scott commented, "You're surprisingly good at this for somebody who was dead for five years."

"Five years isn't really that long," Brian retorted. "Also, can you guys maybe throw the 'dead for five years thing' around a little less? It won't be a good thing if the wrong people find out about that."

"The wrong people?" Scott questioned, taking his eyes away from the screen long enough for my character to slay his.

"Other types like me. Readers, builders, emissaries, shifters, law-keepers, elementals, you know, stuff like that," Brian said casually.

"Don't act like you think we know any of what those things are," I snapped. "We tell you things. We keep you and Carter pretty well in the loop. Your turn."

"You know what emissaries are. People like Deaton are our people. The 'magic' that we have comes from all over the world, all kinds of traditions. Shifters change shape. Only the really old, really good ones can completely change shape. They're mostly gone. The younger ones, just change the air around them. They change people's perceptions of them. Elementals twist the elements. Those gifts are pretty specific. Women generally get earth and fire, men get air and water. It's weird but it works. Law-makers, they're our kind's police. A council of sorts. It's not really very organized. And it's not a fucking witch council that you see on TV, so don't ask. They just keep us from doing really awful things."

We all stared in shock at him. It was the most we'd ever heard either of the siblings say about their 'kind' in the month we'd known them. Isaac was the first one to talk. He asked, "And bringing you back to life..?"

"Yeah, it counts as doing something we weren't supposed to do. You're not supposed to fuck with the balance in life and death. It doesn't have major repercussions or anything but you're basically asking somebody to give up their life so that the balance can be messed up. It's a big no-no." Brian lay down his controller and sat up.

"What happens if you get caught? What happens if the law-makers find out?" Scott demanded.

"And, by the way, you're 'kind' really should pick better names for themselves. Really, you just call yourselves whatever you can do. Seriously?" I retorted.

"Look, we've been doing it for centuries, there are nicer ways to do it but this boils it down. We age, we define our powers, and this is an overall way to do it."

"What happens if the lawmakers find out that Carter and your Mom brought you back to life?" I repeated Scott's question.

"Well, they can't kill me. It would destroy Carter. And they won't hurt Carter because she was a kid when she brought me back. They'd take Mom."

"What would they do to Morgan, if they caught her?" I demanded.

"Let's just say they wouldn't kill her and leave it at that," Brian said stiffly.

We all fell silent for a minute and stared at Brian. The shadow that crossed over his face was terrifying. Isaac had lost both of his parents, I lost my mom, and Scott's dad was basically lost. But whatever would happen to Morgan if she were found out was unspeakable to them.

"Both of my parents are dead," Isaac was the one to break the silence once again. "Mom died in an accident. Dad got killed by the kanima, their friend Jackson. I don't have any family to worry about if I make stupid mistakes."

"You don't believe that," Brian said bluntly. "You've got Scott and his mom and Allison and all of these people. You have people, Isaac. I've seen true loneliness, and you're doing pretty well for an orphan."

"I wonder if the girls' sleepover is going any better?" I wondered aloud.

Brian snorted and replied, "With Carter there, I highly doubt it."


	4. Chapter 4

"So, I told him that he could be a merman for all I cared. If I wanted to take a ride on a yacht, I'd steal one!" Lydia and I giggled at Allison's story. I actually giggled. Of course, that could have been because of the fruity little wine coolers Lydia pulled out during our manicure. I'd had three and I was feeling light as air.

"Do you think mermaids are real?" Lydia asked. She was laying on her bed with her head at the top and Allison next to her with her head at the bottom. I was sprawled across the shaggy pink rug.

"There's no way they could be," Allison protested. "We would have found them by now."

"You've never found the rock elves, and they live in every country in the world," I pointed out. "Fuck up roads a lot if they're not looked after too."

"You know about elves made of rock, but you didn't know about werewolves?" Lydia questioned.

"I didn't have a lot of experience in the supernatural," I explained. "We're exposed to what our parents do first. Mom's a reader, item and people specialized. So she would have old stuff sent to her, study it, and she'd send it back. Between five and ten, we get to go to grand meetings. We're not actually allowed in the meeting but we stay with a few adults who have activities and stories for us. At eleven, we can attend meetings. Sixteen, they start our training for specialization. Training finishes at 22, we're up for council at 33, and we retire at 77. I only ever made it to one actual meeting."

There was a long pause and then Lydia asked, "How do you sound so clear when you're so clearly drunk? You're so much more talkative but you didn't slur one time!"

"I'm not drunk!" I protested.

"You're definitely not sober," Allison snorted. "Have you ever drank before?"

"Yes!" I regularly drank ritual wine.

"For fun?" Lydia demanded.

"No," I admitted. Allison laughed and it felt funny instead of mean so I laughed too.

"Now that you're properly hammered," Lydia stated, "let's hear you talk about boys now!"

"I'm not that drunk, Lydia!"

"Then drink the wine cooler sitting near your head," Allison commanded, "because even I'm interested in how you made out with Stiles when you were supposed to be on a date with Greenberg."

Lydia agreed. "If Scott and Isaac know anything, they're not talking. So you should."

I grunted, reached up, and grabbed the bottle above my head. I took a long pull from it and pointed out, "You're a lot nicer when I'm drunk."

"**You're** a lot nicer when you're drunk," Allison retorted. "Seriously, most of the time, you act like you're pissed at us for being around you."

"It's because she's uncomfortable," Lydia defended. "Stiles has told you that."

"It's true," I sighed honestly. "I'm literally uncomfortable around you people all the time."

"Maybe stop calling us 'you people,'" Lydia suggested. "And start relaxing. You act like it's such a bad thing that we know about Brian being a zombie. What are we going to do? Tell on you?"

I stared at the girls on the bed and, even through my hazy, tipsy brain, I knew to keep my mouth shut. But it didn't matter anyway because Allison sat up quickly and exclaimed, "Oh my god! You have laws, don't you? Like the Hunters do! And you're mentioned that you weren't supposed to bring Brian back. I thought it was breaking natural laws but it isn't, is it? Your family broke a real law, didn't you?"

I just stared at her. She continued, "You did! You broke very real laws. The Hunters kill people for breaking our laws. What do your kind do to punish? What are your people called?"

"Come on," Lydia encouraged when I just stared blankly. "We won't even tell the boys that you told us."

For the first time since I started drinking, I read their faces. Sloppily, since the symbols were literally sliding across their faces, but I could still see the trust and honesty that were moving throughout. Finally, I said slowly, "We call ourselves Natural Scientists. Witches is an annoying, outdated term. Our gifts aren't magic. Nothing comes from nothing. We see and command atoms and molecules."

"So potentially, your kind could do anything. You could rearrange the atoms in my body to turn my blood to iron," Lydia interrupted.

"Potentially, but nobody does because we're not violent. Everything is balanced for us. Like in chemicals. Like in nature. We want balance. Plus, only the older ones focused their gifts in human biology. It's not taught anymore. The information hasn't been passed on. When the older ones are closer to their end, they'll pick a handful of elementals, readers, and builders, and they'll teach them so that it won't be forgotten. They'll be taught separate so none of them pair and feed off one another. It's a specific job."

"What do you do though? You mention them in pairs. Builders and readers. But you're both. Are there others like you?"

"Not that I've heard of. I was an anomaly within the community. They assumed it would fade with age and, as far as they know, it has. If they knew I could still do both, my mother and I would be pulled under watch."

"Why?"

"Because Natural Scientists aren't meant to do more than one thing. Readers interpret the situation; builders change it. Water elementals alter water, fire-fire, air-wind, earth-stone. We have to know the material to change it. So, if builders want something to be changed, they have to have a reader tell them how. If readers want something changed, they have to find a builder. It's a check system. It's what stops us from turning trees to flowers, burning water…"

"Bringing back the dead," Allison said in awe and I nodded. "You're supposed to have somebody to stop you from doing whatever you want, and you don't."

I nodded again. Lydia said, "So who takes care of it."

"The lawmakers. Ten per continent. A mix of the gifts. Not a perfect blend but a standard of our kind. Every citizen across the world knows them. There are so few of us, basically little family groups. Once we were hunted, now we're barely there. The lawmakers travel, greeting babies, assigning trainers if one hasn't been provided, running meetings, and making sure we do three things: teach, remain peaceful, and keep the balance."

"And you broke the balance."

'No, I didn't. Brian's life force is on the other side of the rift. The overall balance is kept. But, in their eyes, I've still done wrong. But I'm underage. I won't be held accountable. My mom will."

"They'll kill her?" I could tell Allison was thinking of her mom and her mom's death.

"Worse. They'll wipe her mind, leaving her with only her ability to read."

"And?" Lydia prompted.

"And a reader who is only left with their gift can only use it in one way- playback. She'd be an empty shell repeating the thoughts of anyone near her. Over and over and over." I suddenly felt very sober and I lifted to bottle to my lips to drain the remaining alcohol.

"Carter, you don't know us, and you don't trust us, but we will never tell anyone," Allison promised. "Nobody will ever find out and we'll help you keep them away if they do find out. And I know Isaac and Scott will help too."

"Thank you. And Brian and I will be kinder. Less aggressive towards you. It's been a long time since I had friends and it'll be nice to have more than Danny and Stiles." I smiled softly.

"Now that we're all friends, tell us what happened with Stiles," Lydia broke the solemnness of the moment. "I mean, we could wait until you've drank more but tell us!"


	5. Chapter 5

****Hey, guys. Sorry for the spotty updates. I've been super busy this summer. Though, I'm not one hundred percent sure people are liking it because I haven't gotten any feedback. Any of you who have read several of my stories know that I love feedback. I'm just putting that out there. Thanks for reading!****

"And the cat just attacked me!" I walked over to Carter, Scott, Allison, Brian, and Danny just as Danny threw his arms up in irritation.

"What happened?" I asked.

Danny raised his shirt to reveal angry looking welts across his torso. "I tried to save a cat and it attacked me."

"Pussy's never good to you, is it, Danny?" I teased at the same time as Carter asked, "Do you just never wear shirts?"

"Shut up. Both of you, just shut up."

Carter laughed and turned to face me. As soon as she did, the smile slid off her face and her eyes started dancing. Left to right. Left to right. Scott, Isaac, and Brian sensed her change and looked over as well. Scott asked, "Dude, how much sleep did you get last night?"

"Not a lot," I answered casually. "It was a weird night."

Carter looked over her shoulder at Danny and then whispered, "Is it nightmares again?"

"No, just couldn't sleep," I assured her. The bell rang overhead and everybody turned to go but Carter's tiny hand caught my wrist quickly, yanking me back to her. When she stopped, Brian and Scott stopped too but she waved them ahead.

"We'll catch up. Don't worry about it," she assured them. "I just need to talk to Stiles for a minute."

"Text me if you don't make it to first period," Brian commanded. "I'll forge a note for you."

She nodded at him and Scott ordered, "Let me know if you need anything."

"I will," I promised. They turned and walked away and I looked down at Carter, who was staring up at me.

"How much sleep have you been getting?" She reached up to grab my face so she could hold my eyes on her, not that I could take them away from her when she was almost pressed against the front of my body, standing up on her toes so she could get a closer look at my face.

"A few hours a night. Sometimes as many as four. What are you doing, Carter?"

"Have you been having the nightmares and the problems again?"

"Nope. Carter, what are you looking for?"

"An open door. And there isn't one. When a rift is open, there's a light that shines through. It makes its presence known."

"Carter, we shut the door. I just haven't been able to sleep. It's not anything supernatural," I assured her. "I'm just not sleeping."

She slowly released my face and her hands slid down my chest to rest on my pecs. She watched my face carefully as her fingers rested over my t shirt. She said slowly, "Stiles, your heartbeat's irregular."

"Ummm….Carter…that probably has more to do with the fact that you keep touching me. You realize that, right? That you're kind of…ummm….caressing me."

"I know," she replied, "and it's going to get even weirder. Because we're going to go to your house and I'm going to help you sleep."

"You can do that?"

"Stiles, I can stop panic attacks and nightmares. Of course I can help you sleep. It's just not as elegant as it would be if I'd had more training, but I can do it."

"What do you have to do?" It didn't escape me that she was still pressed against me with her hands on my chest.

"Make a physical contact bond with you and let you fall asleep with me. Basically, I have to tie you to me and then drag you with me into sleep."

"Fun. Does Brian have the keys to your car?"

"Yep. I'll send him a text in the jeep. Come on, tall, dark, and insomniac." She stepped back and slipped her hand to me and I wandered, as I did a lot, whether she knew what she did to me and purposefully led me on, or if she truly didn't think about her actions. Sometimes, when she reached out and touched my shoulder in comfort, or tousled my hair, or stood too close to me, I thought she had to know. She had to freaking read it on my face that it was driving me crazy. That the smell of her shampoo and the way she chewed on her lip when she was concentrating on her locker combination drove me crazy. But then, she'd grin the same way at Scott and Danny and Isaac and I'd lose hope again. She'd stand too close to them and tousle their hair and laugh at Isaac's stupid jokes and smack Scott whenever he accidentally hit her with the door at the vet's office. She was absolutely, perfectly confusing.

She pulled me to the jeep and, on the way to my house, she propped her tiny feet up on the dashboard and texted Brian to cover for her. Her little fingernails tapped the screen and I couldn't help but look over at the way the red glinted in the sun. The manicure was already chipped between Friday and Tuesday but it matched her. It matched the way she always looked like a mix between feminine and rushed. Fragile and tough. At my house, she followed me in and dropped her backpack on the couch. I stopped in the doorway to stare at her, considering the fact that I was skipping school so that I could sleep with Carter Erickson. She peeked over her shoulder at me and ordered, "Come on. Unless you want to sleep on the couch?"

"The bed is fine." She walked up the stairs and I followed her like a little puppy, playing with my keys the entire time, twisting them over and over again in my hands. She got up to the room and slid her shoes off and started taking her earrings out. She glanced over at me and ordered, "Get comfortable, Stiles. Unless you feel like getting your first full amount of sleep in a pair of Converse."

I kicked off my shoes quickly and asked, "How comfortable?"

"How do you normally sleep?"

"Boxers," I answered honestly. She looked up at me again with a blush across her cheeks and I was glad I wasn't the only uncomfortable person.

"Well," she said after a long second of silence, "get comfortable then. It's important that you're comfortable."

"Shouldn't you be comfortable too then?" I pointed out.

"I'm way ahead of you. I'm about to steal a pair of your shorts and a t shirt. I just wanted to tell you what you have to do before I go to the bathroom to change."

"Oh. Okay. Second drawer of my dresser then."

She nodded and grabbed a pair of shorts and a t shirt out of my dresser. While she was in the bathroom, I stripped out of my jeans and socks. It felt weird to wear socks when I was in my boxers. Then it felt weird to not wear socks when I'd be sleeping in the same bed as Carter. Again. So I put them back on. And I realized that she would know if I wasn't comfortable. So I took them off again and sat on the bed. I ran my fingers through my hair again and again, trying to calm myself down so when she came into the room she wouldn't realize I was freaking out. It seemed like forever before she finally made her way back into the room with her hair braided down her back and wearing my clothes. She climbed onto the bed and moved behind me. I twisted my head to see her and she murmured, "Don't move. This is going to feel really weird. I know you're already really uncomfortable, but it's going to get weirder. I don't already have a physical bond with you, so I have to build one."

"What? Did you do this with Brian before too?"

"Yeah, but our bond was built because we share a life force. To make him sleep, I only have to have physical contact with him and tell him to sleep. So I can literally hold his hand and tell him to sleep. But I don't have a bond with you, so it's going to feel like I'm basically just touching the fuck out of you. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed. With that, she rested her hands on my shoulders and smoothed her palms over them slowly. From where my neck met my shoulder, down to my biceps, and back up again. She kind of released a low, sweet hum while she did it. Not really musical, but soft and quiet. Background noise. Like a wave machine. I rolled my head back as she did it. She slowly moved higher, back up my shoulders, halfway up my neck, and then back down again.

"Relax, Stiles," she said it so soft and quiet, I almost missed it among the humming. It was like she'd never stopped humming. "Shh, sweetheart. Shh."

Her hands traveled higher on my neck. Up to my ears, which she caressed slowly before sliding back down. I groaned, "Carter…"

"Shh, Stiles. Shh." The humming never stopped. I didn't understand how she could hum and talk at the same time. Her hands slid up into my hair and she massaged my scalp. Up and down, back and forth. Humming and murmuring soft things into me. Slowly, after her hands had worked their way to the very top of my head, she worked her way down to my collar bones and then further down to my chest, until she was draped around me. Until she was hugging me from behind, her little chin pressed into my shoulder and the humming vibrating through me. I was relaxing into her, falling back into her arms. As I relaxed, she scooted us backwards together. I may have helped her a little, but mostly she dragged me.

"Carter…" It was more of a slurred mumble than a word. Concrete slabs were tied to my eyelashes. I could not lift my eyes.

"Shh, Stiles. I'm here. Go to sleep. Go to sleep."

"You'll still be here?"

"As long as you need me." Her promise was a whisper and I was on my side with her body pressed against my back again. Her arms were wrapped around me and her hands were still smoothing circles on my chest. It took too much effort to reach up and grab one but I did it. I caught her tiny hand in mine and opened it with my thumb. I raised it to my mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"I'm not sure, but I think I might always need you."

"Then I'll have to always be here." Those were her last words before I couldn't hear anymore or think anymore and I just fell backwards into unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up again to my dad in the doorway and Carter not pressed against my back that time. I was folded around her with my leg pressed between hers and her hands wrapped around mine. Dad's eyebrows were up near his hairline and he asked, "Shouldn't you be in school? And shouldn't she be in school? And shouldn't you be wearing pants?"

"What time is it?" I raised myself up on my elbow and ran my hand over my face. Carter wriggled in front of me and I scooted my hips away from her quickly.

"Two thirty. You still have fifteen minutes of school left. Have you been here all day?"

I looked up to find the usual resigned and exhausted look on his face. I said quickly, "Look, Dad, it's not like what you think. I wish it was. And, let's be honest, you wish it was too. But it's not. She's here because I didn't get a lot of sleep and she can make people sleep."

"What?"

"Long story. Don't worry," I assured him. "She can't do it to everybody. She has to forge a physical bond with them first and….that sounded really bad, didn't it?"

"Yep. So, no sex, right?"

"No sex, Dad," I promised.

"And her mom doesn't mind that she's here?"

"Brian covered it for her."

"And you're not failing any classes yet?"

"Not yet."

"Don't make a habit of this. For Christ's sake, don't make a habit of this. And I'm serious. I'm buying you condoms. Have her stay for dinner when she wakes up. I'll order us takeout."

"Are you off work already?"

"I came home for a few minutes because I got a call from the school saying my son never showed up today. Should I just have them tell me when your absences line up with hers and Scott's so that I have an idea of where you are?"

"And Lydia's," I pointed out. "If you're going to do that, include Lydia."

"Stiles, go back to sleep. I'll see you for dinner." He rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him when he left. I looked down at Carter and stopped for a second to watch the way her eyelashes cast a shadow across her cheek. I laid my head back down onto the pillow and wrapped my arm back around her waist. In her sleep, she sought out my hand again and grasped it tight in her own. Within seconds, I was asleep again.

When I woke up later, it was because Carter's phone was ringing. She reached up without opening her eyes, grasping around on the night table until she found it and pulled it down to her ear. She mumbled, "Hello….no, Mom, I missed school today….sleeping with Stiles….Yeah, he's okay….Just hasn't been getting a lot of sleep….Nah, the door's closed. I can't see it anymore….Tell Deaton I am practicing. I **built** a connection between me and Stiles so I could make him sleep….Roughly eight hours….No, I feel nice and warm….Okay…I'll be home by ten…Love you too….Yeah, Bri's getting my homework….Love you too."

With that, she hung up and reached up to put the phone back on the table, all without opening her eyes. I asked, "Everything alright?"

"Yep." She yawned and wrinkled her nose before asking, "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I just got eight hours of the best sleep I've ever gotten in my life," I admitted. "No nightmares. No waking up. No tossing and turning. Just sleep."

"Good." She rolled onto her back and opened her big, bright eyes. She smiled up at me. "I'm glad I could help."

"I'm glad you offered to help."

"It goes without saying that I would. You, Stiles Stilinski, are my best friend." She reached up and poked my nose gently. "And, a wonderful cuddler."

"This is the second time this has happened, Carter. People are going to get curious."

"People are already curious. You got me out of training today. What do you want to do as a celebration?"

"Dad's ordering Chinese in a little bit. We can get Scott and Brian to bring homework by later. So, we can do whatever you want until then."

She wriggled around on the bed and stretched, lifting her arms above her head and kicking her legs out. My hand rested heavy on her hip and I asked, "Carter, do you ever realize how much of an affect you have on other people?"

"Like you and Isaac?" she replied.

"Yep. Like me and Isaac."

"Sometimes. You're getting better at not showing it. Does it bother you? That I know? Because I don't do it on purpose, Stiles. I'm not the type of person to flaunt in front of you so I can keep you on some hook. I'm working on figuring everything out and the only thing I know right now is that I am attracted to you and that I want you to be okay."

"You're not exactly the malicious type, Carter." I stared down at her and her face was solemn and calm. So I leaned down and pressed a little kiss to her forehead.

"I'm not some crazy drama show teenager," she assured me. "I don't get my kicks from leading guys on. I don't get my kicks from kissing guys that I like, just to tell them I don't want to be with them."

"What do you get from kissing guys that you like but don't want to be with?"

"I don't know," she replied. "You're the only guy I've ever kissed."

"Well…a famous saying is 'The only way out is through,' so…." I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. The cuddling, the flirting, the teasing, I just wanted to see what would happen. And, for a second, her eyes stayed open, studying mine. Then, she lowered them and her hands came up to thread through my hair. I kissed her for a minute and then pulled away slowly to find her smiling at me.

"You are not supposed to do that," she scolded half-heartedly.

"You're not supposed to skip school," I retorted. "But it's part of the normal teenage experience. So we're being normal teenagers."

She laughed and asked, "What are you going to do when I can't make you any promises about who I am?"

"I'm going to wait until I can catch you vulnerable and do this again. And I'm going to give you time to figure out where you are as a person. I'm really good at waiting."

"You don't have to wait for me."

"I know I don't. But I'm going to." I lowered my lips back down to hers and kissed her again.


	7. Chapter 7

The phone was taking forever to ring. It was like she did it on purpose. My heartbeat like crazy and my stomach twisted until the phone finally picked up on the other end and I heard, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Lydia, I need advice." I took a deep breath and continued, "Girl advice. I need advice from another girl."

"Oh my God, Carter! I'll be there in fifteen minutes. You're at home, right? Your shift at the shelter is done?"

"Yep. I'm at home."

"Perfect. Tell your mom I'm spending the night at your house. Do you have a place for me to sleep?"

"The couch downstairs folds into a bed or you can sleep in my bed. I mean, it's pretty big."

"Whatever, that will work." Without another warning, she hung up on me and I stared down at the phone to double check that she hung up on me. She had.

"Brian!" I yelled. I knew he was in his room down the hall and, within a minute, he walked in.

"What's up, slacker?" he asked with half of a smile on his face. I rolled my eyes. To make up for missing training the day before, Deaton made me stand on my head and identify facial features of Isaac, who was also standing on his head.

"Oh shut up. I just wanted to warn you that Lydia is coming over. And she's going to spend the night."

"You're going to have a sleepover!? With somebody who isn't Stiles?" Brian grinned.

"Yes, I'm going to have a sleepover. And I need to tell Mom and I need you to back me up and get Mom not to be….well…not to be Mom like we love her." It wasn't that my mom was embarrassing. She was beautiful and the most amazing mother any person could ever have. But, she had the never-ending tendency to make people uncomfortable.

"Lydia is going to come here? And spend the night?"

"Yes. She will be. So you may flirt with her at dinner and while I'm in the shower. But I have to talk to her about something really important. So no flirting with her when I'm trying to do that. Those are the terms. Agree?"

"Agree. Come on. We'll tell Mom together."

I climbed off of my bed and followed him down the hall to Mom's study where she was diligently bent over her homework. We stood in the doorway and waited patiently for Mom to look up. It didn't take long for her to realize we were there and mumble, "What do you need, darlings?"

"Mom, I have a friend coming over to spend the night," I announced. "Her name is Lydia and she's normal. Well, she's kind of normal. She's a banshee. But she acts normal."

"Unlike Stiles," Brian added. "And Isaac. And Scott. She's more like Danny."

"Oh good. I like Danny. What should I cook for dinner?" Brian and I glanced at each other, both surprised at Mom's calmness.

"Just maybe some chicken and broccoli."

"Okay, babydoll. So when did your brother meet her and fall in love with her?"

"I'm not in love with her, Mom! Don't bring that up!" Brian exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah. Crushes, crushes. Just like the little thing Stiles and Carter have going on. My babies are growing up." At that, she turned away from her homework and grinned at us.

"Mom," we whined together, "don't do that."

"Can't I be proud of the two of you? Look at you! Just look at the two of you! You're both in specialization training and you have your little crushes and you're finishing up high school!"

"Mom, chronologically, I'm 22," Brian protested. "I've had crushes. I should be finishing my specialization training and college!"

"But you got frozen in time, baby-boy. You got stuck at sixteen and now you're seventeen. You missed all that growing up so you're doing it now. And I get to see it all!" Mom grinned at us and we couldn't help but smile back, even though we were both exasperated.

"Mom, just don't mention our crushes to Lydia, okay?" Brian suggested.

"Fine. Any other topics out-of-bounds, honey?"

"Sex, sexual experiences, Jackson the kanima, Aiden and Ethan the werewolves, Peter the werewolf, and generally losing her mind," I listed off.

Mom gave a disgruntled sigh and said, "What can I talk to her about then?"

"Grades, Mom. Grades, plans for college, her clothes, her nails, her hair," I informed her.

"Boring, but fine, honey bunny. Anything for you. Dinner at seven?"

"Dinner at seven," Brian and I repeated.

"Good. Now get out of here and get to work. Bring Lydia up when she gets here and, when you gossip about Stiles, close the door tight so we won't be tempted to listen in, baby-girl."

Brian and I sighed and walked back down the hall. At my room, Brian demanded, "What happened with Stiles?"

"Use it as extra practice and, like Deaton would say, read it!"

"I just figure it would be easier for you to tell me, since I can get it out of him in minutes."

"Then you'll have to get it out of him," I taunted. "Now shoo or I'm going to put you to sleep."

I stepped out of the range of his swatting hand and slammed my door in his face. He teased through the door, "I'll find out, bug eyes."

"Go away, baby hands." I collapsed on my bed and closed my eyes. When I thought about it hard enough, I could almost feel Stiles' lips on mine again. I could see the way his puppy dog brown eyes stared back into mine and smell his laundry detergent, with just a hint of some cheap cologne. We made out for an hour the day before, just laying on his bed with my fingers tracing circles on his neck and the pad of his thumb stroking my hip bone, laying just under the shirt I was wearing. It was innocent. I didn't know much past what I'd read in cheap romance novels and heard about in the media. Granted, Mom bought me a very special birthday present for my fifteenth birthday, a very small, X rated gift in case I got any 'teenage urges.' But I rarely got 'teenage urges.' However, after a few hours of making out with Stiles, those teenage urges seemed like more a reality.

My phone rang loudly, jolting me out of reminiscing. I grabbed it quickly and answered Lydia's call. She greeted me with, "I'm in your driveway. Come help me get my bags."

"Bags?" She'd already hung up.

I walked downstairs and helped her unload the duffel bag and the makeup bag from her tiny car. She carried her bag of blankets. I asked, "Why do you have so much stuff? You're spending a night, not a week."

"Because I need all of this. Don't whine. We both know you're way stronger than I am. It won't hurt you to carry this."

"You do realize that stronger than you means more able to kick your ass," I pointed out.

"Eh. Allison is the same but that doesn't mean she wins any fights against me. Come on."

"Are you actually excited to give me advice?" I led her into the house and up the stairs.

"When am I not excited to tell people what to do? And, of course, it makes it twice as nice that it's you. I happen to know that you especially hate being told what to do, so it's even sweeter."

"Great, you're going to be just as helpful as Danny was." I led her into my bedroom and shut the door behind us.

"You called Danny before you called me?"

"Of course I called Danny before I called you. And he just told me that Stiles and I need to make my own decisions because it's only up to us."

"That's because boys, even the gay ones, are useless with advice. What colors of nail polish do you have?" She flounced over to my beanbag chair and flopped down in it. "Come on. We can talk while we do our nails."

I retrieved my nail polish kit from my dresser. She searched through it for a moment and I observed her in silence. She sighed, "Talk, Carter."

"You know, people who don't know you probably think you're a cold bitch."

"People who do know me think I'm a cold bitch. What happened with you and Stiles?"

"We made out for like two hours on his bed yesterday when we skipped school," I said it quickly, so that I couldn't think about any repercussions of telling her.

"Oh! Now there's some gossip. What happened? Did it have something to do with him not sleeping?"

"Yeah, actually it did. He hasn't been sleeping very well so I went over to his house so that I could help him sleep. Builder thing. We slept for a few hours and, when we woke up, he kissed me. And I kissed him back. A lot."

"And….?" She prompted.

"That's it. We just made out for a few hours. But I feel awful because I keep telling him that I'm not ready to commit to him but I made out with him! I feel like I'm leading him on."

"Did you tell him you can't commit to him?"

"Well, yeah. I don't want him believing we're dating when we're not. I told him that I'm attracted to him but I'm still trying to figure out what I feel for him. So he agreed that it's okay and he even joked that he'll just have to catch me the next time I'm vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?" Lydia repeated.

"I'd just woken up from sleeping. And I was still half asleep and he kissed me. So he joked that I was vulnerable, being half asleep."

"Wait, you were both sleeping. Same bed?"

"Yeah, same bed."

"And you're saying you just kissed?"

"Yes! We just kissed! And cuddled. But we just kissed. That was as far as we went."

"Wait," Lydia stopped me, "you just made out with Stiles for two hours. Nothing else?"

"Nope."

"Dry humping?"

"Not at all."

"Oh my god, you prude! Hours of just kissing? How in the hell could two people spend two hours just kissing? Look at you! And Stiles didn't try anything on you?"

"Nope."

She rolled her eyes and selected a deep red from the inside of my nail polish box before digging out a bottle of nail polish remover. "So what advice do you want?"

"Should I keep making out with Stiles at random without actually dating him? Is it leading him on? What happens if I date him but I'm not sure of my feelings for him and we break up? What happens if he can't be my friend anymore because I'm not sure about what I feel about him and we date and we break up? What happens if…"

"Oh my god, be quiet for a second," Lydia interrupted. "Okay. First thing's first. Do you like making out with Stiles?"

"Well, duh," I replied. "I did it for two hours. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't like it."

"Okay. Do you like spending time with him?"

"Yeah, he's like my best friend."

"And, last but not least, have you ever kissed anybody else?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You haven't ever kissed anybody else. So, my answer is no. Don't date Stiles. You're right when you say you need to figure yourself out before you can decide if you want to date him or not."

"What about making out with him?"

"Well, if it's fun and you know that you're not hurting him, keep making out with him. But, listen to me very closely, Carter," her voice was suddenly very solemn, very unlike Lydia, "do not hurt Stiles. Stiles is so weird that he makes it an art form, and he jokes about everything, but he has a heart of gold. He cares about people so much that it hurts him all the time."

"I know he has a big heart."

"It's not just a big heart, Carter. It's a loyal heart. Stiles has had a thing for me since elementary school and I have literally never showed any more than minimal interest to him. Stiles doesn't just love, Carter. Stiles loves forever."

"Stiles isn't in love with me, Lydia. I recognize love. Brian and I both do. If I didn't see it, he would," I argued.

"I know. So make sure Stiles doesn't fall in love with you until you're ready to fall in love with him."

"Do you always try and make things sound so simple?"

"Things are so simple, Carter. You're just not experienced with all of this teenage stuff yet. What's kissing Stiles like?"

"You've kissed Stiles before, Lydia! You know what it's like!"

"I kissed Stiles for about six seconds. You kissed him for two hours. Now dish or I'll make up rumors anyway." She brought her leg up and nudged me with her foot. "Spill, now."

I rolled my eyes but, like always with Lydia, it was impossible to say no.


	8. Chapter 8

"She has to be that close to him?" I asked Brian.

"She's trying to read a number from just his eyes," Brian informed me. He didn't sound any happier than I did. Carter was sitting on the operating table in front of Isaac and he was standing between her legs with her hands flat on the table by her hips. He had her boxed in and she had her hands resting on his shoulders. She was staring into his eyes with a deep focus.

"Nine."

"Yep. That's two out of ten." She had to get eight out of ten before she was allowed to quit.

"They really have to be that close?" I asked.

"Apparently. Don't be jealous," Brian scolded.

"Don't be an overprotective big brother," I lectured in return.

Brian snorted and Deaton wandered in. He asked, "What are the two of you doing?"

"Making sure Isaac keeps his hands to himself!" Brian let his voice carry so that Isaac would look over.

"I can hear the two of you whether you shout or whisper," Isaac informed us drily. "And I'm keeping my hands to myself."

"And if he wasn't, I'd break his arm," Carter laughed. "He hasn't asked nicely."

"And if I asked nicely," Isaac flirted.

"I might still break your arm," she teased back.

Isaac laughed and bent closer to her again, letting her focus back on her face. Deaton ordered, "Stiles, if you insist on being here while Scott is wherever he is, you have two choices."

"Which are?" I asked.

"You can either help Brian take inventory, or Brian can practice reading on you. So decide whether you want to count medicines or have Brian find out some of your secrets."

I looked from Carter to Brian and announced, "We'll take stock in the back!"

"Behave yourselves," Carter ordered.

"Take careful notice of the cat medicines. They've been weird around here lately and we may get more cat owners."

We went back to the stock room so I could be trapped in a small room with the brother of a girl I spent two hours making out with. So I could be trapped in a small room with a guy who could read all my secrets and could tear my life apart.

"Really, Isaac? Now you're just being an asshole about it!" I was trying not to laugh at what he was thinking.

"Come on, Carter. You have to say it for all of us to know that you got it right!" he teased in return, his blue eyes lighting up. The more I worked with Isaac, the more I got to know him and got to see him, the more I could see past the shadow that usually marred his face. The more I could see his eyes and the way his entire face lit up when he laughed.

"Isaac…" I whined.

"Say it, Carter. Or I'll pick a new number and you'll have to start over."

"Ugh. Fine. Sixty nine, Isaac. The number you're thinking of is 69," I growled.

He giggled and I muttered, "You are a child."

He poked me in the side as the bell over the door jingled cheerily. I commented, "I didn't know Scott was coming today. I thought he was busy with homework and not failing classes still."

"He's not coming today. That's not Scott. I think it's a customer."

"Is Deaton out back?"

"Yep."

"Well scoot then, you big dork. I need to go get the door. Or you do. We actually do work here, Isaac." He stepped back and I hopped down off the counter. I called over my shoulder, "We're not done yet! I still have four more numbers. And try to pick numbers that aren't filthy!"

I walked into the main office and turned to face the customer. The woman had her back to me. She was staring out the window with a ramrod straight spine and platinum blonde hair pulled up in a tight ponytail. Tight black jeans and a black leather jacket. I sighed, hoping it wasn't another hunter or werewolf. They had a taste for the stereotypical badass image. I greeted, "Hello, miss. What can I help you with today?"

The girl turned around and I froze. The face staring at me was the face of a girl from my past and my past wasn't something I ever wanted to see. "Oh my God! Carter Donald! I haven't seen you since….well, since…"

"Since my brother died," I said solemnly. "What are you doing here, Steffi?"

"What are you doing here? Oh my god, everybody's wondering what happened to you! You and your mom just disappeared off the face of the earth after your brother died! What's going on?"

"Umm…well…specialization training!" I said quickly. "You know, I just turned sixteen so I'm starting my training."

"I started mine last year! I'm actually on my first solo trip. I'm specializing in care of non-sentient creatures. I'm following a small flock of fairies up from New Mexico. We got a call from Florida where they originally got loose. Do you remember Clarissa?"

"Yes, I do. Um…I'll just call for my boss."

"Oh, it'll be fine. My trainer told me to stop in here while I'm looking. That a man named Deaton can help me find them. But I have time. The only thing they do is bother cats and break small things. It's just an easy mission for me to practice my tracking.

"Anyway, Clarissa, that little idiot girl. You remember the one a couple years older than us? Well, she's doing the same thing as me down in Florida. There are only five of us in this specialty in North America. New York, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, and Hawaii. Poor boy in Hawaii is overrun half the time. I'm surprised they didn't get him a partner. Anyway, Clarissa is an idiot and, apparently, they outsmarted her. Freaking fairies outsmarted her. Isn't that funny?"

"Yeah, I really should get my boss, Steffi. I mean, I'm in first year training and I don't know anything about fairies."

"Oh, I forgot to ask. That's pretty rude of me. What's your training? I heard you lost the building ability. Grew out of it."

"Umm…I'm in training to be an emissary. Deaton's an emissary."

"Werewolves! You work with werewolves! Wow. I don't think a single one of us envies you that. Did you hear about the emissary that was killed by her alpha?"

"Jenifer, yeah, I heard. I actually have a pack member here. Would you like to meet a real, live werewolf?"

"Really? Like, is it safe? I've heard so much about them. Male or female?"

"Male. He's completely safe. Let me go get him really quick. It'll just take me a second."

"Okay!" I slipped back into the back room where Isaac was sitting on the operating table reading a book. I rushed over to him and stood between his knees quickly.

"Isaac, I need you to do something for me," I hissed.

"Carter, what's wrong?"

"Isaac, there's somebody out there. Somebody from mine and Brian's past," I whispered frantically. "And Brian and Stiles are in the back room. I told her that I'm in training to be an emissary. She thinks I'm just a reader and she wants to meet a real live werewolf. I just need you to distract her for five minutes while I get Brian and Stiles out the back."

"What? But she's like you!" he hissed back, his eyebrows furrowing and his blue eyes narrowing. "She'll be able to tell when I'm lying. She'll know!"

"No, Isaac," I reached up and grasped his face in my hands securely. "No, she won't. Because she's been in training a year. She's specialized. When we specialize ourselves, our gift starts to narrow. She's been doing it for a year. It will be harder for her to read you than it is for me to read you. All you have to do is go in there and let her ask you questions about being wolfey. Which might mean wolfing out a little. Yell if you need me to intervene."

I turned to walk towards the storeroom and he snagged my hand to pull me back. He objected, "Carter…is this person dangerous?"

Fear. The werewolf was afraid of a tiny blonde girl like me. The abused werewolf was afraid of a girl like me. The abused boy was afraid of somebody with powers like mine.

"Isaac," I stepped closer to him again and brought my hands back up to his face. I stroked his cheekbones with the pads of my thumbs and promised the little abused boy, "I will not send you to somebody who is going to hurt you. I'm not going to let you get hurt because of me. Ever, okay?"

"I'll go talk to her."

"Thank you, Isaac. Thank you so, so much." I leaned forward and threw my arms around him tight. It was the first time I'd ever hugged one of the wolves. It was the first time I'd ever shown affection past common friendliness to one of them.

I let him go and he jumped down off the table while I went to the storeroom in the back. I slipped inside to find Brian glaring at Stiles and Stiles counting sheepishly. Brian turned and growled, "Carter, why in the world did you…"

"Now really isn't the time for this, Bri." He froze and read my face quickly.

"What's going on?"

"Do you remember Steffi?"

"Umm…Steffi?"

"From when we were younger. She was a year ahead of me and she had the biggest crush on you. The little blonde who had the weird obsession with insects."

"Oh! Yeah, Steffi. Oh fuck. You can't be telling me that…"

"She's out there. She's here in Beacon Hills and I need you to go. You and Stiles go out the back and to Stiles' house. I'm going to get rid of her. Do not come back to our house tonight. I'll be there as soon as I can. Go, though. God, just go, please."

"Carter, I can't leave you here with her," Brian protested.

"Bri, she's a non-sentient care-taker. She can't read people like we can. I can be safe as long as she doesn't see you. She cannot see you."

"I'll get him out of here," Stiles promised. "We'll stay at my house."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I rushed across the small room and threw my arms around his neck. I pressed my face into his neck and murmured, "I will owe you to the ends of the earth and back."

"Careful making promises, Carter," he teased half-heartedly.

I let go of him and grabbed Brian next. I pulled him tight against me and ordered, "Go. I'll be fine. I'll see you at Stiles' house tonight."

"Be careful, okay? Just be careful."

"I will. I have Isaac with me."


	9. Chapter 9

I went back into the front office, where Steffi was walking circles around Isaac while he stood in his wolf form. She exclaimed, "Have you seen this, Carter? You're so lucky! Do you always get to see this? This is cool! You have the coolest boyfriend ever!"

"Boyfriend," I coughed. "I have the coolest boyfriend."

Isaac turned and gave me a sheepish grimace, which was even worse in his wolf form. Steffi continued, "Yeah, Isaac was just telling me you had to have a moment to fix yourself up in the bathroom and I teased him about it and he caved! I can't believe that wasn't the first thing you told me!"

"Yeah, um, it's kind of a recent thing. Not really that big of a deal. So how long are you in town?" I changed the subject.

"Just until I get the fairies rounded up and chased back down south. The capture's the hardest part. I don't figure I could convince you guys and your boss to give me a little help?"

"Yeah, we're just going to go out back and grab him," I excused us.

"Both of you?" she asked.

I took a deep breath and reminded myself that Steffi was losing the ability to read human faces. I made myself blush and replied, "I just need to steal him for a second. Promise, Steffi. I have to remind him why he's with me when a girl as pretty as you is around."

"Trust me, I'm not questioning it," Isaac replied sweetly as he shifted down into his usual form. I smiled tightly, grabbed his hand, and yanked him into the backroom.

"What the hell, Isaac?" I hissed.

"I panicked," he answered. "She was asking me where you were and I didn't have an answer. So I kind of hinted that we were making out and then she kind of looked like she thought you were a bad person so I told her that you are my girlfriend."

"I might have to kill you," I informed him. "We're going to have to be boyfriend and girlfriend until she's out of town, you understand that, right?"

"Well yeah but how long is she going to be in town?"

"Well that depends on how long it's going to take to capture all of those fairies."

"We can find them," he assured me. "You have two werewolves, a banshee, and some teenagers with weird abilities. We'll do great."

"Let's just get Deaton."

"Oh, you guys are just too great. Sam was right to send me here, Deaton. I bet he didn't even know that Carter would be here. Nobody knows where Carter disappeared to, you know."

"The Donalds took some time to themselves to recuperate after the death of her brother," Deaton spoke for me. "But, Steffi, we're working to read over these files."

We were all sitting around the main desk, reading over the recent cat problems, tracing the path of the fairies. Fairies pissed cats off. They made them go crazy. Isaac was sitting close to me with his arm wrapped around my waist and his head bent close to mine. I knew there was going to be a shitstorm later from Brian about my new pretend boyfriend but, at the moment, we were doing anything to keep Steffi focused on us, which, thankfully, she definitely was.

"So do you ever kiss him with the fangs and claws out?"

"Nope," I answered. "I definitely do not do that."

"Do you ever feel the urge to kiss her with fangs and claws out?"

"It's not what I usually have on my mind when that's going on," Isaac answered without looking away from the paper in front of us. "Look, the path leads from Danny's house, up into the hills, and then back down into town. What do these things eat?"

"They're adaptable," Steffi replied. "Mostly, trash. They've adapted over the years to eat what humans throw out. They prefer fast food."

"Well, there's a lot of fast food joints around here." Deaton circled a place on the map.

"And the last cat report fell right here," I pointed near the circle. "I think they're moving inward. Steffi, what do you know about their patterns?"

"They tend to travel in two circles. They walk more than they fly and they travel more at night. Another adaptability thing. They travel in cycles. The first gathers food and takes it back. Then, when that food is done, the second circle moves in. There are about thirty of them on the loose right now. A few got killed passing through Texas. You know the group down there. Shoot first, ask questions second. So we only have around twenty here."

"Two groups of ten is easier than one group of twenty," Isaac said optimistically.

"You've never seen them in a pack," Steffi replied. "Have you heard about the latest adaptation?"

"No," Deaton admitted. "We've been a little busy on this side of the US."

"It started about ten years ago…"

"I thought evolution takes millions of years," Isaac interrupted.

"For non-supernatural species," Steffi waved him off with a smile that was very inappropriate for her to be sitting in front of somebody she thought was his girlfriend. "For supernatural species, it takes about fifteen generations. Fairies reproduce at a rate of about six months. So we get about two new generations a year. We've been controlling the breeding rates for years and they've finally adapted."

"What's their new adaptation?" I asked.

"They group. They gather together in groups of ten and fight as one."

"Great, so we're fighting morphing fairies. Wonderful," Isaac sighed. "Why can't fairies be normal? Why can't they just be like Tinkerbell?"

"Because, doll face, Tinkerbell isn't real. You'll understand once you see these fairies."

"So when do we go after them? Tonight or tomorrow?" I questioned.

"Well, they went back into the woods just last night, if we're right." Steffi pointed at the map. "And there was an incident here the night before. So, they won't be out again until tomorrow. Both cycles have gone through and they'll rest until they've made it through their food."

"So we wait," I sighed. Waiting meant that Steffi stayed in town longer. Steffi being in town longer increased her chances of finding out about Brian, which, in turn, increased the chances of Mom ending up in the endless prison of her gift.

"Speaking of waiting," Steffi caught our attention again, "I don't really have a place to stay tonight."

"Sam didn't send you with any money for a hotel?" Deaton demanded.

"He kind of did, but I mean, it would be nice to spend some time with an old friend. What do you think, Carter? I'd love to catch up while I'm in town."

"Oh, Steffi, I'd love to. I really would but…"

"I live with her," Isaac spoke up quickly when I couldn't find words to fill the empty space. Deaton and I both stared at him. He explained, "My dad died a while back and I'm an orphan. I was staying with a friend of mine but Morgan, you know, Carter's mom, took a liking to me and I moved in with them."

I briefly considered killing Isaac. Steffi's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Wow! You guys are really close. And your mom trusts you so much."

"We have separate bedrooms," I corrected quickly.

"Oh, so your couch is free?"

Even without being able to read human faces, Steffi should have been able to catch the hint that she just wasn't taking. I excused, "Yeah, it should. Let me just call my mom and get permission. I don't want to surprise her. Since Brian's death, she doesn't take surprises so well."

"And, if Morgan simply cannot have a house guest tonight, I always have a spare bedroom for those passing through," Deaton offered.

I slid away from the table and ordered, "Come on, Isaac. Help me convince Mom."

I held my hand out and he took it so I could pull him into the back room. I growled, "Really? You live with me?"

"Well, it gave a reason for her not being able to spend the night with you and, if she makes it into your house, it gives you an excuse for the extra male bedroom. I didn't know what to do."

"Well, it's better than nothing."

I pulled my cell out and called Mom. When she answered, I said fast, "Mom, don't talk yet. Don't ask questions. This is really important. Look, there's somebody from our kind back in town. I've taken care of it. Bri's at Stiles' house. She didn't see him. It's Steffi. She specialized in non-sentient supernatural creatures and she's in town retrieving some fairies. Long story short. She thinks Isaac is my boyfriend who lives with us and she wants to spend a couple of nights at our house on the couch. Brian is going to stay with Stiles. We're going out tomorrow night to capture the first half of the fairies. Then we'll go the night after next and take the second. If we say no, she'll be suspicious."

"Bring her over. Specialized in non-sentient creatures means that she can't read humans. We'll give her a show and send her ass packing before the week's over. Baby-girl, don't be scared."

"Mom, I'm not…" I interrupted.

"I can hear it in your voice, sweetheart. But by the time this girl leaves here, she's going to be convinced that we're a family still suffering from the grief of losing our dear Brian." Mom's voice was strong with resolve. "You've got this, baby-girl. We've got this. And Isaac, your apparent boyfriend, has got this. We're going to do this."

"We'll be home in an hour, Mom."

"And I'll have everything cleaned up, honey bunny. I'll call your brother and make sure everything is taken care of on that end. I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up and looked up at Isaac. I asked, "Are you ready to play pretend, honey?"

"Anything for you, sweetheart."

"Good." I reached down and took his hand in mine. He interlaced our fingers and we walked back into the main office with smiles. I announced, "Steffi, Mom welcomes you into our house. I'll have to give you the couch tonight. Sorry about that."

"That's great. My car's outside."

"Before I take you home, we should stop in at the site we think the fairies will be," I suggested. "Do a little surveillance. Make sure we're ready for tomorrow night."

"I'll be right behind you guys," Isaac said. "I'm going to stop by Scott's house and fill him in on what's going on."

"Thanks, babe." The word felt awkward in my mouth.

"Not a problem. I'll see you at home." He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.

"You guys don't have to be prudes because of me being here," Steffi informed us. "We're not watching. You guys live together. If you want to kiss, kiss."

Isaac and I stared at each other and he muttered, "It looks weird, Carter."

"You look weird, you little shit," I growled.

I rested my hands on his shoulders, stood up on my tiptoes, and stared into his eyes. He locked his arms around my waist and pulled me tight against him. He whispered again, "It's only weird if you make it weird."

"I hate you," I hissed between gritted teeth.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine gently. Then a little more forcefully. I relaxed into him and let him. In a very different way from Stiles, Isaac explored my mouth. Isaac was sharper and harder at the edges but he tasted like fast food and Pepsi. It was silly and weird and fun. I pulled away and laughed and he grinned down at me. I patted him on the chest and said, "I'll see you later, big boy."

"I'll see you at home, tiny girl."

He walked out and I turned to Steffi. "Come on. My car's outside. The black Mustang. You can follow me to the location and then to my house."


End file.
